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Eleven people were injured onboard a Lufthansa flight from Argentina to Germany after the aircraft encountered “severe turbulence” on Monday.
Flight LH511 from Buenos Aires to Frankfurt hit “brief but severe turbulence” while flying in an intertropical convergence zone with low-pressure air currents, said Lufthansa.
Five passengers and six crew members sustained “minor injuries” during the incident and received medical treatment after landing safely at the German airport on Tuesday morning (12 November).
According to the airline, the Boeing 747-8 was travelling with 329 passengers and 19 crew members on board.
Lufthansa said that a Special Assistance Team has been “providing support to the affected passengers”.
A spokesperson for Lufthansa said: “The safety of the flight was never compromised. Lufthansa regrets any inconvenience caused to the passengers. The safety and well-being of passengers and crew members always remains Lufthansa’s top priority.
“Of course, seat belts must be worn on all Lufthansa flights as a matter of principle – that means, passengers are obliged to fasten their seat belts as soon as they have taken their seats.”
Earlier this year, a British man was killed and several other passengers were critically injured after a harrowing flight from London to Singapore was hit by severe turbulence.
Flight SQ321, with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board, departed London Heathrow on 20 May and diverted to Bangkok after it encountered turbulence 10 hours into the journey.
Geoffrey Kitchen, 73, died as a result of a suspected heart attack, with dozens more taken to hospital.
A probe into the incident by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau revealed passengers on Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ321 endured 19 seconds of extreme turbulence that included a drop of 178 feet in just 4.6 seconds – representing a vertical speed of 26mph. They also suffered violent changes in vertical acceleration.
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